Eye of the Storm
by ocsummers
Summary: When you see the world as it's, it's not surprising to realize that you're inside a safety bubble, trapped within a tornado. And when that bubble is burst, the storm outside may very well consume you. World is a hungry place after all.


**A.N:** A Rental Magica fanfiction. The anime itself received mixed reaction both due to the fact that the episode order was fucked up, and that it didn't have a satisfying ending. But when I first saw it, all I could think about was the untapped potential the series had, seriously. The series as whole doesn't have much of a unique story, gotta admit, but what it lacked in uniqueness, it more than made up for it with its world building.

Mythology itself has always been one of my favorite topics, and this series as it's natural has it entwined with it. Again I need to admit that I'm not all that knowledgeable about Shito, Onmyoudou nor Taoism, but deciding to write a fanfiction for this series gives me the incentive to remedy that fact. Any recommendation for reading material is always welcome. And if anybody knows of where I can find the rest of the translated light novels, well thanks in advance.

**Disclaimer:I don't own Rental Magica.**

* * *

My breath left me with an umph, as my back met the mat for the fifteenth time that day. The heavy cotton gi soaked with sweat, my body sore from myriad of blows rained upon it, I graciously accepted the hand helping me up with only a grumble.

"Something on your mind, Itsuki-chan?"

I grunted in reply, both from the fact that the annoying nickname I'd been deemed with since I'd joined the ranks of Judo Club being used again and that there really was something on my mind.

"Give me a hint?"

This time my answer was a heavy sigh of defeat, as I rubbed my temples. If you looked at the girl in front of me wearing a similar gi to mine, only tighter in some other places, you wouldn't expect much. With her long brown hair, delicate features, and soft brown eyes, she looked like the epitome of unsuspecting and fragile high school girl. Of course it was usually a painful learning experience for many who underrestimated Mizuno Tani, the Captain of the Judo Club, and approached her with less than pleasant intentions. Looking at the over eager eyes and wide happy smile, not that much different from a puppy, it wasn't a surprise that any reluctance I might've had to begin with crumbled into nothing.

Lowering my hand to meet her eyes properly, I decided to indulge her.

"You want something to drink, Captain. We're probably the only ones left in the school anyway."

Seeing that I was serious she gave a nod of agreement.

Half an hour later we sat across each other in a maid cafe, not my choice mind you, dressed in our school uniforms, sipping green tea from delicately inscribed porcelain cups. Despite my initial reluctance, I had to admit that the place, generally catering to the otaku and fetishists, served really good tea. Taking another gulp of the scorching hot liquid, I broke the silence that'd enveloped our table and started my explanation.

"You know about my father, right?" I questioned, not really bothering to hear her answer; she already knew of my circumstances. "It's been seven years."

This time normally way too cheerful Captain of the Judo Club replied with the necessary amount of solemnness.

"I see, Sorry for your loss."

I let out a tired chuckle at that, "It's not that, Captain." I said, taking another sip from my tea. "Maybe it's cold of me but I'd already accepted he was dead. The thing is though; I received a missive about it. About inheritance and such."

Placing her elbow onto the table and leaning her chin to her palm, she focused her whole attention on me, indicating me to continue.

"Nekoyashiki-san, a former employee of my father , told me that I'd to take over the reigns of the company my father built, or it could very well go bankrupt." A derisive snort escaped me. "I'm a high school student for God's sake, I shouldn't have to be saddled with this."

"Did you talk with your uncle about it?"

Question was unsurprising, but my answer was apparently one.

"No."

This time it was Mizuno's turn to sigh. Removing her elbow form the table, she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance and met my eyes with a glare.

"Why the hell not?"

Did I tell you that she was also a little short-tempered, especially when someone she had taken under her wing acted illogically in her opinion. But this wasn't about logic.

"Did you think that he didn't already know about this?" I answered with a glare of my own, slamming the china to the table causing the colding liqid to slosh viciously. "Besides," my voice tired again and unnaturally loud in the silence that had taken over the cafe because of my loud reaction", they've already done enough for me, there's no need for them to be tangled up in this mess."

"Wait! Is this something dangerous?" Hair-trigger temper left itself to astonishment. "You wouldn't want your poor Captain to worry herself sick, would you?"

"No, no, no! Definitely not!" I said hurriedly, crossing my arms in front of me in panic, no need for her to get her mixed up with this as well. "It's just a private contractor company, nothing more."

"Then your Captain is happy, Itsuki-chan. For a second I thought that my cute little underclassman got himself involved with the yakuza or something."

Looking at the absurdly happy girl, making a V sign with her hand, I let my head fall forward to the table. The thunk my forehead made when meeting with the wooden surface did nothing to the ache starting up behind my closed eyelids. No wonder we couldn't keep many newcomers in the club more than a few months. Our Captain was a raging schizophrenic.

After a ten seconds of cursing my luck for being saddled up with weirdos, I raised my head again to see the mischievous grin I knew, was there at my actions.

"You want me to give you a ride, Captain?" My question as I already knew, only received me a slap to the top of my head.

"The day I ride that death trap you call a vehicle with you is the day I leave my gi for pigtails and dresses!" She yelled standing up with a jump, "And bill is yours too."

Watching as she ran out of the store and left hurriedly, I tried to not let the chuckles the employees gave me as I stood up to pay the bill get to me, I really did.

* * *

"So why am I here again?"

"Because you're our President and you need to see us at work?"

"Is that suppose to be a question, Nekoyashiki-san?"

"Ohoho, already so assertive, yes, yes we found ourselves a worthy President indeed."

I couldn't stop the twitching my left eye did at the words.

"I'll really go back home, if you keep this up Nekoyashiki-san."

This was turning out to be the longest two hours of my life. Ren Nekoyashiki, former and only remaining employee of my father's generation of Astral was a man different from everything an onmyouji was suppose to be. At the very least it again showed me the proof that reality was very different from the myths, very different. With cat's dangling allover his white haori, unsurprising considering his name, bleached silver hair and eyes squinted in to slits because of the wide smile he wore, he was the antithesis of the respectful and dignified followers of the way of yin and yang. And to be honest even if he was a bit less unpleasant to be around, it didn't change the fact that the bastard had practically guilt tripped me into accepting the position.

"But was it necessary for me to wear this?"

I'd finally asked what was really bugging me throughout the night. I'd nothing against the job we were doing, despite the fact that a magi-renting company being tasked with the job of capturing an escaped pet, or even that I had to walk around in the back alleys of Furube City for the last two hours. What annoyed me was that I had to leave my leather jacket behind to wear this fancy, black, monkey suit. It could've very well been at home inside of an expensive restaurant or even in some recital, but wearing it while attempting to capture a dog? Not so much. Dress shoes I'd worn with the ensemble had already gotten covered in dust and mud despite all my care. I gave another glare at the direction of the completely clean white wearing man, just for the sake of it.

"Of course, you're representing us after all!" Nekoyashiki answered, nodding as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I gave an annoyed grunt in response, rubbing the eye-patch covering my right eye, it had been aching ever since this whole ordeal had started up. And if I knew anything about that eye then shit was about to hit the fan, a loud growl started up behind us shaking me to the bones and interrupting my thoughts, and somehow it was all going to be that cat loving bastard's fault."

* * *

"Aww, it's a completely normal pet name President, would you like to pet my cats President, try this tie with this suit President- I was almost eaten by a fucking cerberus, you cat loving freak! I still have slobber in places I don't want it to be! "

I stood up from my chair in the office, yelling my fury at the silver haired man in front of me. The object of my fury sat kneeling on the ground in seiza position with his cats following his lead.

"Language, President. Mikan-chan is too young for something like that."

"Language he says, and you," I said, turning to the little priestess rolling on the ground in laughter, "stop laughing!"

"But Onii-chan President was soo funny! Teehee, he was screaming at us to get it off of him."

My cheeks burned as the memories of the night again assaulted me again.

"Damn it, Mikan-chan, don't remind me if Mizuno-captain saw me like that I'd never see the end of it."

"Oh," Nekoyashiki rejoined the conversation again, "then I better get rid of the photos I took."

I turned my gaze back at him in horror.

"Tell me you didn't." I begged, with tears in my eye. Nekoyashiki didn't answer only hid his mouth behind the folding fan he took out from somewhere. I knew he was grinning mockingly at me behind the paper implement.

"You're a horrible person, Nekoyashiki-san, a horrible, horrible person."

My final admission caused Mikan to let another wave of laughter, followed by a snort from the napping three-headed dog on the carpet next to the door.

* * *

I rubbed my eye as it burned from the exhaustion, the company records, referance books, various documents covered the table completely. I was scared to check the watch but slowly lightening sky told me that I'd better start getting ready for the school. It had been one and a half week since I'd taken over the company and throughout that time there wasn't a single second of it I wasn't busy with either school, club activities, field work or learning how to run the executive work. Even with his penchant for annoying antics, I had to admit that Nekoyashiki was a wealth of information and if it wasn't for him I would still trying to make sense of the very first document that had needed my signature. Of course all that help had't come cheaply as I'd to pay him back by transporting him for his interviews for the various the occult magazines. And I gotta tell you there is nothing more stressful than a pack cats squirming behind you while you're trying to ride a motorbike.

Sound of the door opening made me turn my head towards the enterance, blearly looking at the cheerful and wide awake cat-lover, must be a morning person, that bastard, I asked what happened in an annoyed fashion.

"I've good news President."

"I don't want to know what bright and cute Byakko did this time, Nekoyashiki-san. I didn't get a blink of sleep, I'm hungry and someone better shuts that bird's mouth or I'm going to murder it and make it my breakfast."

The aforementioned bird tweeting on my window still stopped its singing and gave me what I thought with my sleep deprived mind to be a hurt look before flying away.

"My,my, someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning."

I managed to give him an unimpressed look at his joke.

"What's the good news, Nekoyashiki-san? It can always be you who's on the menu."

"Ohoho, then I better hurry, I wouldn't want to be eaten by President."

Walking across the office to sit in one of the comfy armchairs Nekoyashiki took out his paper fan to hide his mouth behind it.

"I found ourselves a new employee, or to be honest she applied for employment herself, one Honami Takase Ambler."

"Ambler, Ambler," I muttered searching through the papers to find the one I was looking for ", any relation to Hazel Ambler?"

For a second I felt as if I said something I shouldn't have said, as Nekoyashiki watched me ,this time, with open eyes.

"What?"

Shlack!

The sound of the fan folding close, almost caused me to jump in my chair.

"Nothing, nothing. Yes indeed, she's her granddaughter, a prodigy in Celtic Magic."

"I thought Celtic Magic was extinct."

"Was, is the right word, President. She managed to revive the secret art all by herself."

I had to rub my eye to clear up my sight in astonishment.

"Why would a woman of her caliber want to join this company. No offence Nekoyashiki-san but from what I can see of the records, we didn't even do any job for the Association for the last seven years. I'm pretty sure she received much better opportunities than this." I finally said, surprisingly I felt a slight sense of annoyance at mentioning our less than stellar reputation.

"Who knows. You could always ask her when you meet her. I'm sure she'll surprise you." Nekoyashiki answered while slowly standing up from his armchair. "You'll drop me at the Star Cafe, right President?"

I muttered profanities under my breath as I too stood up from the chair that had been my home for the last week and a half.

"Who's the adult here, dammit. Have some responsibility."

* * *

"Go away."

I tried the shoo away the finger poking me at the shoulder.

"Class was dismissed Itsuki. If you don't get up, I'm calling Mizuno-sempai."

Finally I managed to open my eyes. It seemed like I'd again passed out in class how unsurprising.

"Just let me rest Kazushi, I didn't get a wink of sleep last night."

Kazushi Yamada, who sat with his chair turned backwards towards me, had been a friend of mine for the last 8 years.

"That's it! I'm getting Mizuno-sempai."

So he knew exactly what do to get me up and running.

"Fine, fine, I'm up. I need to go to dojo anyway."

Kazushi made a face at that.

"You should've joined the Swimming Club with me, Itsuki. I worry for you because of that manic pixie."

"Are you still on about that? I'm perfectly happy with my accommodations thank you very much." I replied, standing up from my desk and doing a stretch to get the blood pumping. "Besides, I dare you to call that to the Captain's face."

"Are you kidding me! I like my arms where the are." Kazushi shook his head frantically."I heard what she did to Kirigaya-sempai after that cafeteria incident."

Both of us simultaneously winced at that. It hadn't been a pretty sight.

Grabbing both the jacket and the bag from the beneath the desk, I walked towards the door while Kazushi followed my lead.

"Have you seen the new freshmen?"

And Kazushi was back on track. Ever since the primary school, he had always been a bit of a perv.

"Didn't have much opportunity. Only girl who joined our club this year, Natsu-san, didn't last a month after dropping out."

"Ayako Natsu, Class 1-B, Blond hair, great bust."

I nodded in reply. She might not have been the most dedicated disciple but she did have some redeeming qualities.

"My poor, poor Itsuki. Always lacking in the eye candy department." Kazushi said, emphatically. " You should learn; you're just too young to be dating material for Mizuno-sempai, no matter how hard you try."

"I'm only a year younge- never mind that. What try, what we have is a perfect relationship for a captain and her vice."

Kazushi searched my face for any signs of deception and I raised a brow in question.

"Then what about all those offers of ride?"

"We're usually the only ones left by the time we leave the dojo." I explained, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "You know how the trains are in this day and age."

"Yes, those poor molesters."

I swatted at his head in annoyance. Okay, maybe Captain wasn't the cover girl for holding back, but few broken wrists and dislocated elbows wasn't that much of an over the top reaction. When knees and shoulders entered to the mix, things got complicated.

We continued until the entrance of the dojo, where the sounds of flesh striking flesh and bodies hitting the floor was the natural noise.

"I'll say a little prayer for you, if you can't manage to survive this time, Itsuki."

"Go fuck yourself, Kazushi."

With the affectionate goodbye, I opened the sliding door to an unsurprising view.

Five moderadtely built guys wearing gi, lying on the floor.

"Vice-captain help us."

I stepped over one of the heavily breathing bodies on the floor to the one asking me for help.

"Maebara-san, you shouldn't have agreed to have an all-out battle with her."

This had quickly became the norm in the dojo. The days I couldn't join the practice, captain normally challenged the club to an all-out battle. Everybody against everybody. Of course it was only like that in practice, as she generally wanted them to team up on her. Ayako-san was one of the victims of one such event.

"But it as a five on one." he whined.

I gave him an unimpressed look.

"And that worked out when?"

"But at least you came, so it's over."

I hated to bust his bubble but sadly it wasn't so. Sound of the door sliding open caused me to turn towards it to see the Captain guzzling down a bottle of cold tea like it was water. Once empty she threw the empty plastic bottle to a wastebasket.

"You came just in time, Itsuki-chan. Dress up, I'm going to evaluate you."

I felt a drop of cold sweat slide down my neck.

"I'm sorry Captain,I came in to tell you that I won't be staying today either."

Her brows furrowed in thought.

"This is the second time this week, Itsuki."

The absence of my nickname showed me that it wasn't alright to do this again.

"I know, I know, but I still have some unfinished business that needs to dealt with."

We both ignored the obvious questioning looks thrown our way as the other members of the Judo Club picked themselves with the presence of their captain.

"You've been tired too often lately, Itsuki. I heard you've been dozing off in classes too."

I laughed nervously at that, some bastard had tattled me.

"I'm trying to adjust to my new circumstances, Captain. Once I get used to it, this shouldn't be a problem anymore."

After a second of inspecting me, she finally let out a sigh of agreement.

"Fine, fine. But you're going to give me a proper match next time."

"Okay, Captain, I will. Thank you for your understanding."

I walked out of the dojo and closed the door just in time to hear her tell the members to get ready for the round two.

* * *

The trip back to the mansion where the headquarters of the Astral was located took me an hour because of a pit stop at my house. During the time when my uncle and his family had left for the States I'd been given the choice of staying in their family home or moving to a place closer to school. I'd taken the second option and moved to an apartment complex three blocks away from the school. But it seemed another relocation was in my future as I'd only been able to be at home for handful of moments ever since this Astral business. I missed my bed, God damn it. Approaching the steel gates of the mansion with casual steps, I stopped in front of it.

"How long are you going to hide?"

The girl who stood leaning against the wall, hidden by a cloud of magic, appeared as the concealment fell away.

"Hoo, I had heard that the Second President of the Astral was a normal person. To be able see through my illusion like that..."

I felt my breath hitch as I saw her. Blonde wavy hair, bright green eyes, high cheekbones, pale and smooth skin, around my age; she looked like the very definition of European aristocracy, a noble woman of the highest order. But all that fell away next to the aura girl excluded. So powerful, so passionate, and yet so sad. The waves of spell power rolled off her in a fiery wave causing warm tingling in my right eye. Also, this girl was dangerous.

"When the person trying to hide herself doesn't even bother to hide properly it doesn't take much to detect it, to be honest."

Now that was all bluster. If it wasn't for my eye, I wouldn't even have noticed her covered within the corona of concealment magic.

"Tch. What do you know." She sniffed imperiously. "I'm Adelica Lenn Mathers of the Goetia."

If memory served right it was an European Magician Society, a really prestigious one at that, specialized in Magic of Solomon, also known as demon summoning.

"Mathers-san, what do I owe this visit for. You could've just booked an appointment if you just wanted to hire us."

At my words, the feeling of magic spiked. This wasn't going well.

"You fool, as if I'd ever fall low enough to consider hiring a mixed band of vagabonds like you."

The impetuous behavior was starting to get to me, I deduced.

"Then you got no business here, Mathers-san."

My abrupt reply only seemed to rile her up some more. A slight wetness began to emit from my right eye, as the the warm tingling slowly became a stinging pain.

"I came to tell you to back off from your next job."

What next job, I thought for a moment to ask, then I recalled our only remaining job. A simple, spell wave contamination purification. It was standard practice for places close to ley lines where some heavy magic had been worked on previously. It could be everything from an apparition to demon to a previous workshop of a magi who didn't know how to lean up after himself. It was funny how quickly I'd begin to consider something like this to be standard event.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse."

As if not refusing was an option. The offer had came directly from the Association after all, and it was our last chance to keep our contract with them active.

"Ah, but I didn't ask you, did I?" She said, with a self assured shake of her head. "Come forth, Botis. Wise earl commanding sixty armies."

The spell wave floating around her crystallized into existence around her left arm and just as I started to turn around to run; the snake that came into existence with a few words met my eyes. My will to run escaped me as I stood there transfixed to the twinkling eyes of the serpent.

"I'm going to need you to sign here and here."

I couldn't turn my gaze away from the eyes, but I tensed as the blonde girl approached me taking out a old looking parchment and a quill with her right hand. She was trying to make me sign a geas. A binding agreement between magi, with horrifying consequences if broken. I wasn't even a magi for god's sake.

No.

No.

No.

My body moved on it's own as my fingers grasped the feather, writing implement.

No.

I could see the victorious smirk at the edge of my vision.

No!

Just as the tip of the quill touched the old paper, a silver light lanced through the air, slicing the parchment apart and slamming into the serpent's head, shattering it into the particles of magic it had been formed from.

I felt my strength return to my limbs, and I jumped back putting as much as distance as possible between me and the crazy blonde. Turning my gaze towards my rescuer, to thank her/him for their assistance, I was assaulted with the image of something I wasn't prepared against.

A broom?

My rescuer, same age as me and my assailant, was a girl with chestnut-colored hair and ice blue eyes covered by glasses. She was also floating in the air on a broomstick like a witch of fairytale, complete with the cape and pointed hat get up. And was that a sailor uniform beneath the cape?

I froze. My mouth open with the intention of thanking her, yet not sure what to say to the cosplaying witch. Did it even count as cosplaying if you really were a witch?

I decided not to question my rescuer on the matter.

"You, starting to get that hopeless, Addie? Summoning a demon of that caliber for an ordinary human."

Mathers who had been turning red in rage turned her gaze towards the witch.

"Honami! This doesn't concern you."

Honami-

"Oh, but it's my employer who you're making a pass at."

Heh, she was younger than I imagined.

Both of their auras rose, forming a maelstrom of spell power. The wetness I'd started to feel in my right eye, slid down my cheek. My hand went to my face to check it, only to come back covered in blood.

Shit.

"No matter. As I said before I'm going to have to ask you to back off." Silence was broken by Mathers as she controlled her breathing, and her coloring returned to normal. "This Night is rather significant and Astral has no place in such an event."

Tch. I hadn't known the contamination had reached the level of a Night, it seemed like the files weren't complete again. A Night was when the contamination reached to a heightened sense of existence. Not exactly gaining a consciousness but not exactly dead either. Still from what I learned and saw so far, a purification job belonged to a Shintoist especially when the place in question was in Japan.

"Addie-"

I cut my rescuer of with a negligent wave of my hand.

"Actually I think it's Goetia who has no place in such an event." I took out a handkerchief to clean the blood of my face. "You've come a long way for a rather ordinary event, Mathers-san."

"Hehe, spoken like a true President, you've grown Icchan."

I cast a questioning look at my rescuer, who was smiling and shaking her head in wonder. What in the hell-

"Hmpf. I'd pay you back for such words, but tonight is neither the time nor place for such a thing." And the imperious princess was back. "I shall let Astral be our opponent in this conflict, just for the fun of it. Then you'll see the difference between us. Forneus!"

I had seen many thing ever since that accident but it was still possible to be surprised by the world of magi. A silver shark covered in silvery metal plates, rose beneath Mathers' feet, lifting her up into the air, as a flying steed. I wondered whether Jaws was hiding somewhere weeping in envy at the sight of the majestic creature. Soon the silver beast turned around and sped off into the clouds. Me and my rescuer/employee watched as it soon became a speck in the distance.

"Would you like some tea, Ambler-san?" I questioned, turning my gaze towards the witch now that the threat was gone.

"Ambler-san, huh?" Again I gave her a questioning look, raising my brow." Just Honami is fine, President. And tea would be lovely."

"Fine, Honami." I said, acknowledging her wish. "Welcome to the Astral."


End file.
